This is Baltimore, Maryland. Home to 2 million people, this US city is connected by a network
of subway and light rail lines, which service 47 stations across Baltimore and two adjacent
counties. Consisting of two lines and 45 miles of track, the system connects various
neighborhoods across Baltimore, with trains running through downtown to the suburbs.
But how did the system grow from its original stations to the network it is today?
My name’s Zach, and this is the Evolution of the Network.
The first section of the Baltimore Metro Subway opened in November 1983,
starting from Charles Center in downtown. The line ran towards the northwest of the city,
servicing nine new stations to Reisterstown Plaza.
A three station extension of the subway opened in July 1987, with service beginning to Owings Mills.
The first segment of Baltimore’s light rail network opened in April 1992,
with 15 stations running from Timonium to Camden Yards. The line offered two walking connections
to the Metro Subway at Lexington Market and State Center/Cultural Center stations,
allowing riders to interchange between the two lines. In August of that year, an additional
three stations were opened at the south end of the light rail line, bringing service to Patapsco.
Light rail expansion continued on the south end of the line in April 1993,
with an additional four stations opening to Linthicum. Two months later in June,
two more stations were added, bringing the line to its present terminus at Cromwell/Glen Burnie.
The Metro Subway was extended east in May 1995, with a two station
extension opening to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Light rail service continued to expand into 1997,
with additional stations being added on both ends of the system. In September,
5 new stations were added north from Timonium, taking the line to Hunt Valley. In December,
a second light rail service was introduced, stopping at many stations on the original line.
Starting from a new stop at Baltimore’s Penn Station, the line shared stations with the Blue
route to Linthicum, before branching off west to the Baltimore Washington International Airport.
In September 1998, an infill station was added to the light rail network just south of downtown,
servicing the newly constructed Ravens Stadium. Light rail service to the
new stop at Hamburg Street was provided only during game times until July 2005,
when trains began servicing the stop full time. In February 2004, service on the light rail
network was reconfigured. On the blue route, trains were changed to service BWI Airport instead
of Cromwell/Glen Burnie, while Yellow Line trains changed to service Cromwell/Glen Burnie instead.
In February 2006, routing on the light rail network was changed once again, with
a new red route being introduced. Yellow route service was extended north from the University
of Baltimore/Mount Royal stop, following the Blue route north to Timonium. Red route service
began operating as a shuttle from Penn Station to the University of Baltimore stop, connecting the
main light rail line to the train station. In August 2007, the Red line shuttle was
extended further south into downtown, servicing existing light rail stations to Camden Yards.
Changes were made to the north end of the line in February 2008, with Timonium station being
renamed to Timonium Fairgrounds. At the same time, off peak trips on the Yellow route were
also extended north, with trains now following the blue route to Hunt Valley. In August, peak
trips on this route were also extended, with full service now being offered on the entire route.
However in February 2009, peak trips on the Yellow route were cut back once again to Timonium,
with only off peak service continuing north to Hunt Valley.
In June 2017, a major rebranding was undertaken on the Baltimore transit system,
with various stations and routes being renamed. On the light rail network, Timonium Fairgrounds
station was renamed to Fairgrounds, while Timonium Business Park was now referred to as Timonium.
In downtown, the station at the University of Baltimore was renamed to Mount Royal/MICA,
while Centre Street was renamed to Mount Vernon. Further south, University Center/Baltimore Street
was renamed to Baltimore Arena, while Hamburg Street was renamed to Stadium-Federal Hill. On the
yellow route, Cromwell/Glen Burnie was simplified, now being named Glen Burnie. On the subway,
Shot Tower/Market Place was renamed to Shot Tower, while State Center/Cultural Center was simplified
to State Center. This brings us to the Baltimore subway and light rail map that we know today.
That was the evolution of Baltimore’s subway and light rail network, giving us the two lines
that we know today. If you haven’t already, be sure to watch our video on the Evolution of
Baltimore and Washington’s commuter rail network, which you can access by clicking the button in the
top right corner. Don’t forget to leave a like if you enjoyed this video, and comment down below to
join in the discussion. My name’s Zach, and I’ll be Vanishing Underground, until the next one.